President Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Thursday he was wrong with his self-imposed three to six months deadline on ending the drug problem in the country.â€œI feel so bad [about] all of these things. Kasi nalaman ko, paano ko makontrol in three to six months, ang mga generals na pulis nandiyan. Tapos â€˜yung mga Bureau of Customs na inaasahan ko, p*******ina nasa droga. How will I succeed, e nasa droga,â€ Duterta said in a speech in Ozamis City.â€œAlam ko na nagkamali ako. Nagkamali talaga ako,â€ he added.

The President also said the Philippines has now become a â€œnarcotics country.â€â€œNow, magtanong kayo, ang Pilipinas, are we or are we not a narcotics country? Yes, we are,â€ he said.

â€œSabi ko, tama iyang silang mga kritiko ko. â€˜Eh sabi mo, noong nag-Presidente ka, three to six months.â€™ Hindi ko alam pagpasok ko, eh Davao lang kasi ako, so ang template ko Davaoâ€¦ May droga, pero sabi ko, maglaro ka doon, patay ka talaga,â€ he added.During the campaign period, Duterte promised to end the drug problem in the Philippines within the first three to six months of his term. When the deadline lapsed, he asked for another six month extension.READ: Duterte wants war on crime, drugs extended for 6 more monthsâ€œGive me another six months. That self-imposed time of three to six months, well, I did not realize how severe and how serious the problem of drug menace in this Republic until I became President,â€ he then said.But Duterte again asked for an extension, and his deadly drug war would extend up to the last day of his term in 2022

...Throwing more soldiers and police at drug users is not just a waste of money but also can actually make the problem worse. Locking up non-violent offenders and drug users almost always backfires, instead strengthening organized crime.

That is the message I would like to send to the world and, especially to President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. Trust me, I learned the hard way.

more at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/opinion/president-duterte-is-repeating-my-mistakes.html?mcubz=1